In November, Campaign founder Derek Webb travelled to Northern Ireland to speak as an expert on FOBTs in a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight investigation into FOBTs and their impact in the area.

As the presenter investigated the impact of FOBTs have had on the area, Derek was on hand to explain the reason the machines are so addictive, and why the maximum stakes per spin should be slashed to £2. During the programme, Spotlight disclosed a letter from the NI Attorney General to a senior politician declaring an opinion of the illegality of FOBTs in Northern Ireland.

This was quickly succeeded by the news that a Northern Ireland bookie had been arrested as part of a police investigation into whether the machines breach gambling laws. Despite the Gambling Act 2005 being introducted in the UK, the last law introduced in Northern Ireland in 1985 states that gaming machines should have a maximum stake of 30p, with an upward winning limit of £8.

You can watch the Spotlight investigation on BBC iPlayer until December 20th.

More gamblers 'self-excluding' as online betting grows

Amid a rise in online betting and reports that almost £4.7bn was bet online in 2016-17, the number of gamblers opting to self-excluse themselves from betting has risen. According to online operators, over one million requests came in from customers asking to close their accounts last year. This figure is almost double the previous year's figures.

The news comes as operators are preparing to offer a scheme which will offer gamblers the ability to opt out from all forms of betting. From spring 2018, gamblers will be able to exclude themselves from all online gaming sites by registering with a single website. This differs from the current situation where gamblers must contact each individual retailer to close down their accounts and self-exclude.

On 31st October, the government published a consultation that covers proposals to:

Maximum stakes and prizes for all categories of gaming machines permitted under the Gambling Act 2005.

Social responsiblity measures for the industry as a whole to minimise the risk of gambling-related harm, including on gambling advetising, online gambling , gaming machines and research, education and treatment.

We are now well into the 12-week consultation period which will run until 23rd January, following which the government will consider its final proposal on gambling measures, including the maximum FOBT stake.

The Campaign objective is to reduce the maximum FOBT stakes from £100 to £2 per spin. You can help us achieve this objective by submitting evidence to the government for examination in the consultation.

Both organisations and individuals are able to submit evidence for examination online. You can do this by:

As always, we have been working away writing on Politics Home Central Lobby to highlight the key issues in the battle against FOBTs.

Following the publication of the government's gambling review, a debate of around an hour took place on Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility following an Urgent Question from Tom Watson MP. We looked at the debate in depth after Gambling Minister Tracey Crouch MP did an excellent job of presenting the government position and encouraging participation in the new consultation.

Later in November we produced a round-up report, including the latest action from the APPG on FOBTs and the discussion surrounding the legality (or lack thereof) of FOBTs in Northern Ireland. As well as this, we looked at the refusal of the ABB to appear before the APPG group to answer questions on a KPMG report, which should have been made available for public scrutiny.

You can find a full round-up of all the stories we have penned for Politics Home Central Lobby by clicking here.

Gambling and FOBTs in the news

Following the launch of a new consultation period by the government at the end of October, there has been an influx of stories about problem and ex-gamblers, and the way their gambling has affected their lives.